Champion of the hearth: The lightning thief
by HuntressOfTheStrange
Summary: At four years old, Persephone Jackson was made an orphan and adopted by an unlikely source. Percy comes to camp prepared and ready for anything that comes her way, though falling in love didn't really count as anything. Olympus better watch out, the daughter or sea and fire is going to change the ancient Greek world forever. Fem!Percy. Warnings inside :)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:So my muse wouldn't let me sleep until I got this out, especially after seeing SOM. So this is Lukercy but fem!Percy since I can't write slash to save my life.** **Some myths have been tweaked slightly but nothing too drastic :)**

**Warnings: Fem!Percy, Violence, a bit of an age difference between Luke and Percy (Not much though),Good!Luke, and the sweetness that is Grover(Don't judge me on that). Oh and one important OC.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but my plot twists and OCs. The ownership of this wonderful series is Rick Riordan. :(**

_**Birth of a hero:**_

* * *

Screams rang through the clinically white room. Nurses bustled around, looking at the slightly panicking woman with the warm indifference that only nurses could manage.

"Breathe." Dr Jacobs, an elderly midwife, commanded while barking out orders at a skittish young orderly. Dr Jacobs had done this many times, it was like a game to her, though not a very entertaining one. The woman in her ward at the moment irked her, first time mothers always did. They screamed and shouted like the world was ending and she was getting old! She had no time for screamers.

The young orderly placed a metal tray on the table next the bed and shuffled away, fearful of encountering her mentors wrath. The orderly cast one last look over her shoulder and was again struck with the woman's beauty, even in childbirth her curls were bouncing around her head like a chocolate halo as her rosy lips rounded into another scream. Yes, Sally Jackson was a pretty one.

"Now I'm going to count to ten then I want you to push." Dr Jacobs ordered, completely focused on the task in front of her. "One." The soon to be mother bit her lip in a feeble attempt to muffle her pained screams. "Two...Three...Four." Dr Jacobs snapped the latex gloves against her wrist in frustration, the baby was a difficult one, and a kicker to boot.

"Five...Six...Seven...Eight..." Sally struggled not to push. "Nine..." Sally groaned loudly as pain consumed her "Ten...Push!"

Childish cries filled the room as the orderly bustled back in with towels, water and a small cot on wheels. Dr Jacobs wrapped the baby up in towels and smiled at the similarities between mother and child. The baby had a small tuft of dark hair, a cute button nose and startling sea coloured eyes.

"Congratulations Ms Jackson, you have a little girl." Sally took a sharp intake of breath, the baby was meant to be a boy, girls were rare from her father. "What are you going to call her?" Dr Jacobs handed Sally the baby and she almost flinched at the similarities between her child and it's father. While the raven hair was curled in an almost replica of Sally the colour was distinctly _his._The startling green eyes were another trademark of the god.

"Persephone Hestia Jackson."

* * *

Fire licked at her curls as Sally ran down the pier, the mould-infested wood wobbling beneath her. "RUN PERCY!" Sally shouted pulling the small child forwards. She hoped she had more time than this, she thought she had at least a few more years. The Chimera roared as it's prey got further and further towards the water.

The small child, four-year old Percy Jackson, got her foot caught on a knot in the wood and fell down on the unstable wood. Sally groaned as she felt the planks shift beneath her, _that was not good_. She swung Percy up and into her arms, running faster than ever before. The pier creaked loudly as the wood beneath them started to crack as crumble. Sally had frozen in fear of falling through and started to slowly creep towards the sea.

A sharp cut-off scream tore through the night as the pier crumbled to the depths below and mother and child fell through. The Chimera made a desperate grab and caught the woman who was quick to drop her child into the water. "Protect her." Sally whispered feebly as teeth pierced her side and she was dragged away towards the cold pavement.

Percy screamed and thrashed in panic, not realising she was breathing underwater. She kept punching and kicking into the water, hitting jagged planks of wood. Percy felt her eyes start to droop as the adrenalin left her and her limbs became stiff with fatigue. She slowly succumbed to unconsciousness as blackness clouded her vision and she stopped thrashing.

* * *

All was calm across the oceans, not a breeze in the air. Yet gentle waves still lapped towards the shore, almost _directing _something. The beach was completely abandoned except for one mansion-like house nestled in between sharp-looking rocks. In front of the house was a small pavilion with a circle of stones in the centre, containing a small fire. A small girl of about six was collecting shells on the shore, a wicker basket hanging limply from her left hand.

A high-pitched groan echoed across the beach, catching the attention of the girl. She cautiously approached the small human-shaped lump in the distance. The girl's caramel hair flew behind her as she realised the lump was a small child and rushed over in worry. She gasped looking at the small girl, no older than five at most.

"Milady..." The girl called. "MILADY." She called louder, as another girl popped her head out the door. This girl was around nine or ten years old with long brown hair that caught bronze in the light. The most striking feature about the girl were the deep orange eyes, like flames around a camp-fire.

"What is wrong Esmé?" The fire-eyed girl shouted back, a contented smile on her face. The girl, Esmé frantically waved her arms towards the small child, unable to find the right words.

The fire-eyed girl caught Esme's plea, the smile slipping on her face, replaced by an unsettling frown. She ran toward Esme and the child, growing taller as she neared the them. Much to Esme's surprise, the fire-eyed girl settled as an older woman, around twenty three years old. Her mistress very rarely chose one of her older forms, preferring to stay younger with Esme.

"Oh why must you do this to me brother?" The fire-eyed girl softly sighed, running a hand through her hair. Esmé looked timidly at her mistress. "Milady? You know who this child is?" Esme's brows furrowed in confusion, the child was a demigod, but she could not tell much more.

"This is a child of the sea. The first daughter of Poseidon." The fire-eyed girl stated calmly, running her hands over any visible wounds, a soft orange glow healing them without much trouble.

* * *

**Read and Review!**

**So there's the first chapter, the next one or two will mostly be background then on with the Lightning Thief.**

**Quick question: Since I'm making Luke good, who do you want to be the bad guy? I'm leaning towards Annabeth. **


	2. the ways of fire

**So here's chapter one, enjoy it my lovelies:) **

**Just a little note: My pen name has changed from WickedNixieOfManipulation to HuntressOfTheHearth . A virtual hug for anyone who knows the starfish earring reference :)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, I just like to twist stories to fit my morbid imagination :3**

_The ways of fire:_

* * *

"You need to push back dear. Stop defending." A girl of around sixteen sung. Her long bronze hair framed a heart-shaped face and mesmerizing soft orange eyes.

"I know that Tia_, _but I can't even think about going on the offensive with you coming at me from all angles." A dark-haired girl of ten whined back. This girl had sharp cheek bones and stormy green eyes with tendrils of the same orange shooting out from the pupil. She was holding twin daggers of celestial bronze while the other girl was holding a long sword and gold-tinted shield.

Sword clashed against dagger as the girls thrust and clashed in an endless battle for victory. A wooden door behind them opened and Esme, now around twelve, ran into the courtyard, skidding to a stop near but still away from the fighting pair.

"Milady, you have a guest." Esme called, her lilac eyes glancing over at the younger girl meaningfully. _Tia _looked clueless for a minute before realisation dawned across her face, it was _that _guest.

"Persephone would you go and tend the front lawn fire for me?" She said hoping to distract the younger girl from their guest.

"Okay Tia." Persephone smiled happily before placing her daggers in the sheaths attached to her belt and skipping around to the front of the house.

* * *

"Do you know how dangerous it is for you to be here brother?" Tia asked, looking at the unexpected guest in front of her. A tall man in his late thirties, he had deep black hair,peppered with grey, and startling ocean-coloured eyes. There was no doubt he was related to Persephone.

"Hestia please. It's her birthday tomorrow and I just wanted to leave her something." The man said, looking at Hestia with pleading eyes. Hestia sighed and ran a hand through her hair, this was going to give her grey hairs, she was sure of it.

"Fine, but she mustn't see you." Hestia finally gave in, giving her brother a sharp nod towards the door and walking over to it. "You can leave it in here then leave out the back." She stated before opening the door and slipping out into the front garden. The man sighed, much like his sister. He was weary of leaving something with such a tragic past with his only daughter, but he was sure she could break the streak.

It was with a heavy hand that Poseidon left the two neatly wrapped gifts of the hard oak table and slipped through the back door.

* * *

Persephone stared at her reflection in the mirror and fidgeted in the dress she was forced into. It was a traditional Greek dress and absolutely gorgeous, but for Persephone it was a nightmare. It was a creamy white colour and bunched at the waist and shoulders, thin blue ropes crisscrossed around her back and over her shoulders to tie around her waist. The material was scratchy and uncomfortable but she didn't dare say no to Esme, especially when she used her evil puppy dog eyes.

"You can come down now!" Hestia shouted up the staircase, giddy with excitement. Before Persephone she rarely got to celebrate birthdays as Esme couldn't remember hers and Hestia had not celebrated her own in many years. She sighed and felt for the daggers strapped to her thighs, the only place she could get away with hiding them in a dress like this one.

With one last air kiss at the mirror Persephone turned on her heel and flounced out the room and down the staircase. She stopped outside the heavily engraved door and rapped her knuckles against it, ignoring the slight sting left on the back of her hand. Persephone waited for the quiet 'come in' from Tia before struggling and finally pushing the heavy door open. She gasped as saw what awaited her in the room.

"Open mine first." Esme squealed, pulling her arm towards an empty armchair near the table. Persephone was quickly hailed with a giant box wrapped in hot pink and a purple bow on top.

Persephone carefully pulled at the bow and dismantled the wrapping paper. She opened the box, expecting something frivolous like most of Esme's gifts were. Instead she found a small leather band embroidered with a red, blue and green jewel. She tied ti around her wrist and peered down at it.

"Uhh...Thanks." Persephone directed at Esme. Esme rolled her eyes and surged forwards, muttering about silly demigods and kelp for brains. She dropped to her knees next to the armchair and grabbed Persephone's wrist. She pressed down on the red jewel which started to glow and expand. It grew bigger and rounder on her wrist, slowly losing its red colour and dulling down to a soft bronze. A shield.

"The blue one turns into a bow,without the arrows obviously, and I just thought the green one was pretty." Esme finished with an impish grin and reached around the shield to a small button on the underside. As she pressed it, the shield shrunk back down while deepening in colour. In a matter of seconds it was a jewel again.

...

A few hours later Persephone had collected a range of gifts. From Hestia she had received new sheaths for her daggers and a pretty shell-shaped locket that contained a picture of the three of them. Her family.

From Iris, who she had met while delivering a message to Hestia, she had received _Circe's complete makeover and comfort kit _along with a never-ending arousal can, for messages. The kit contained _Medea's SPF 5000 sun lotion, _A Tupperware container of Ambrosia squares, a flask of nectar, _Circe's shapeshifting powder(Men's use only) _and some corrosive eye-liner.

Persephone had also been sent some lovely shell jewellery from some of the visiting naiads and a shirt made of soft leaves from some dryads. The only gifts she had yet to unwrap were two neatly wrapped presents from _him._ Her father. She was slightly bitter he couldn't talk but she knew the laws. Even if they were completely stupid. _  
_

She looked at the boxes. One was long and thin, wrapped in glittery green paper with a thin blue bow on top. The other was small and square with blue paper and a chunky green bow on top.

Persephone chose to open the small one first. The room was completely silent as she picked up the box and tugged at the bow. It gracefully fell to her lap and suddenly Persephone wasn't so sure about opening her gifts.

She sighed and set about opening the small box, proving trickier than it looked. When she had finally defeated the box she opened it up to find some star-shaped earrings. Upon closer inspection she could see they were moving! Real starfish!

She had heard stories of mermaids that wore real starfish as earrings and they would whisper sweet messages in your ears. Persephone gently lifted one up to her ear and giggled at the vacuum feeling on her earlobe. She then put the other one.

"_Such a pretty princess."_

_"Pretty girly"_

Persephone was full-out laughing when she picked up the other present. The paper crunched in her hands as she lifted it from the table. After unwrapping the box she lifted out a golden pen with an inscription on the side, _Anaklusmos. _Riptide.


	3. I vaporise an old woman

**A/N: Just to answer someone's question: Esme is the daughter of a dryad and Ares, she was left on the beach as a toddler and found by Hestia.**

**Warning: Slight cursing and violence in this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but Esme and the kind-of-plot. :( **

_I vaporise an old woman:_

"Are you sure you have everything?" Hestia looked at Persephone worriedly. Persephone rolled her eyes, and showed her the inside of her satchel once more.

"I'll be fine. I'll have Esme with me anyway and I'd like to see anyone beat a daughter of the war-god." It was true as well. No one, not even Hestia had been able to beat the nymph. Esme was standing off to the side, bouncing on the balls of her feet excitedly. Her caramel hair was tied up in a messy bun and for the first time in her life, she was wearing jeans.

"Are you sure? I'm sure if my brother came looking for you I would be able to deter him." Hestia said, not whining of course because a goddess did _not_ whine. Persephone sighed and ran a hand through her fast growing hair.

"I'm sorry Tia, camp is the safest place for her. You never know, we'll probably be back by Christmas." Esme piped up, eager to rid the frown from Hestia's face. She then became very interested in her shoelaces as Persephone went to hug Hestia.

"I'll miss you." She murmured, face buried in Hestia's bronze hair. "I know, I'll miss you two as well. IM if you need anything. _Anything _Seph, don't wait until its life or death." Hestia squeezed Persephone's shoulders once more before letting go and handing back her satchel.

"Well, I may see you there but otherwise Good Luck."

* * *

"_A sailer went to sea,sea,sea._

_To see what he could see, see,see_

_But all that he could see, see ,se-"_

"Will you shut up?" Persephone asked irritably, after the fourth round of Esme singing. She didn't mind the first two times but after that she was ready to uncap riptide. They were walking along a long dirt road, about two days away from Camp Half-blood.

"I was just trying to relieve the boredom." Esme said, kicking a stone as she sulked. This was so boring! She thought there might at least be more monsters to slay. But no, the monsters were apparently taking the day off.

Persephone looked towards the darkening sky, fearing the high chance of rain. "We can set up camp soon, then if we're lucky we will be able to reach camp tomorrow." She said, trying to distract Esme from her mood. Esme perked up immediately, looking around for a spot to set up.

A piercing battle cry interrupted the quiet of the afternoon. "What was that?" Persephone asked, trying to keep the worry out of her voice.

"I have no idea." Esme replied, looking around with a grin. She might finally get to slay a monster. Persephone sighed and walked on towards a relatively dry patch of grass, hoping to set up a small fire.

"I'm sure it's nothing, Es' " Persephone said, picking up some dry sticks and taking some spare paper from her satchel. Esme dropped her bag to the floor and rummaged through it. With a shout of victory she held up a lighter.

* * *

"Are you awake?" Persephone asked, looking up at the stars. She couldn't sleep, not with all the noises out in the forest. She was scared, not that she would ever admit it.

"Yeah, are you?"

"Well obviously not." The sarcasm was thick in Persephone's voice. She could have sworn she was hearing something moving around the forest, though she hoped she was wrong. Suddenly, all the small noises of the night stopped, nothing seemed to move. Then the sound of leaves crunching invaded her senses. Two heads snapped up towards the sound, watching a slim hunched over figure in the distance.

Both girls jump up and scramble around for the nearest weapons. Persephone discreetly unsheathed her daggers while Esme took a bow from her bag and notched an arrow. The figure got closer and closer, revealing it to be a small old woman wearing a weathered leather jacket.

"Hello honey" The old woman said, smiling cruelly and unveiling small pointed fangs. Esme raised her bow higher, taking in the old lady's glowing yellow eyes. She knew no mortal old woman could have reached them without godly help.

"Just put the weapons down and tell where it is." The old woman cooed, voice cracking like dying flames. Persephone was confused, she knew Zeus' lightning bolt had been stolen, but from what Hestia told her , he had sent the Olympians to look for it not monsters.

Esme had a sudden realisation and drew back the bow-string. "A kindly one." She muttered towards Persephone, aiming the arrow. Persephone lifted her daggers higher, shifting her right foot behind her slightly.

Before their eyes, the old woman seemed to grow and shift. Her steely grey hair receded back on her head, thinning out. Her clothes split down the sides and more yellow, saliva-covered fangs sprouted from her mouth. Finally leathery bat-like wings appeared behind her, flapping around and raising her from the ground a few centimetres.

"WHERE IS IT? WHERE IS IT?" The fury shouted, spit flying everywhere. Esme let the arrow fly loose, ripping through the wings membrane. Persephone ran forwards, daggers slashing in the air, she ducked as arrows flew through the air hitting their mark each time.

The fury screeched, light filtering through the holes in her wings. It surged forwards with its claws for Persephone's chest. Esme reached behind her and hand grasped thin air. She had run out of arrows.

"Oh shit."

Daggers met claws as Persephone threw her arms up to ward of the attack. She pushed forward and drew back slightly, breathing heavily. Persephone once more ran forward and jumped towards the fury's heavily drooping wing. She slashed clean through it, her dagger cutting through the wing like butter.

She then turned her torso to slash across the fury's chest, the fury screamed and dragged its claws across Persephone's arm. Blood seeped through Persephone's long-sleeved shirt, painting it a dark red. In one last-ditch attempt at victory, Persephone plunged towards the fury's chest, ignoring Esme's shouts below.

Her left dagger pierced the fury's skin, sinking into its stomach. The fury screeched in pain, clawing at the air. Her skin seemed to sparkle slightly as it disintegrated into the night sky. Dust flew around everywhere before eventually disappearing and leaving Persephone to fall to the ground.

She landed with an undignified _thump _and groaned as she turned on her back so she was facing upwards.

"Ow."


	4. Old ladies and big socks

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot, Esme and this variation of Percy. Sad days.**

**A/N: I'm sorry this is so short but I wanted to follow the chapter structure of the book.**

_Old ladies and big socks:_

"This should cut our journey in half at least." Esme pronounced smugly, waving a map in Persephone's face. Persephone was less confident, chewing holes in the skin of her lip.

"Are you sure? What if the bat lady comes back?" Persephone added just the right amount of fear into her voice to avoid Esme's ever rolling eyes. Esme threw an arm around Persephone and gave her a grin that would put any wonderland cat to shame.

"We will be fine." Esme said reassuringly, completely confident in her ability to sniff out any monsters. They stepped onto the greyhound , squinting through the stifling heat. They made their way to the back, dodging the odd old man or small child. They finally reached the back and stowed their bags away above them. The peeling fake leather of the seats fell to the floor like dandruff as they sat down.

Mindless chatter allowed their time to waste away as the sky turned the faint orange of dusk. Two loud bangs were heard in processions as the bus came to an abrupt stop and smoke billowed out from the engine, obscuring the view outside the windows. The driver bashed his hands against the steering wheel in frustration and gestured for everyone to evacuate the bus.

The girls slowly stepped out into the blistering heat of the dusty road taking the time to look around. Esme yelped quietly and stared transfixed at the other side of the road. An old fruit stand stood solitary on the side of the worn out track, manned only by three old ladies. Wooden crates of delicious fruits surrounded them, blood red cherries piled upon juicy green pears and a claw foot tub of ice being the main attractions.

The three old ladies all seemed to be holding something. The lady on the right was holding a giant pair of knitting needles and seemed to be knitting a giant pair of socks. The woman in the middle was holding the giant ball of yarn connected to the needles while the woman on the left was fiddling with a big basket of yarn in her lap. The yarn was a entrancing sparkly silver grey.

"We should get back on the bus." Esme mumbled, pulling at Persephone's arm feebly. Persephone ignored the tugging as she gazed hungrily at the crates of fruit. A smirk pulled at her lips as she whisper-shouted "Do you think they would fit me?" She was tugged backwards sharply as Esme dragged her back to the bus.

"They weren't looking at you were they? Tell me they weren't looking at you." Esme pleaded as she swiped a hand across her forehead, sweat gathering quickly. Persephone shrugged and looked back out of the dewy windows, it must have been her imagination because those old ladies couldn't have been staring at her. Though it looked very close.

A loud shout erupted from the crowd outside as the driver ushered everyone back onto the bus with a triumphant smile on his face. They were soon rolling down the dusty path, all quite relieved to be away from the creepy fruit stand.


End file.
